Chris Meyer has unwittingly been living in someone else’s house for six years (Picture: Caters)

Chris Meyer is trying to sell his three-bed flat so he can move into his dream house.

The only problem is, he doesn’t own the flat he’s been living in for six years – he actually owns the one next door.

Businessman Chris, 30, from Carlisle, was hoping to sell his flat at no. 8 Carlisle Court and move to a more spacious house, but a legal mix-up with the Land Registry documents means he actually owns the house at no. 9, while his neighbour owns his.

Which is making the sale pretty tricky.

And he’s not the only resident affected – ten of the 15 flat owners in the building are facing the same problem.

The problem stems from the plot numbers listed on the Land Registry documents when the flats were built back in 2004. While everyone thought they were living in the correct flats, the numbers didn’t match up to the Land Registry’s.

All except five owners in the block have the same problem (Picture: Caters)

‘I’m totally and utterly stuck,’ Chris told the Carlisle News & Star, explaining: ‘I put the flat on the market three years ago for £80,000. I had loads of interest and an offer of £76,000.

‘I’d chosen the new house, had the mortgage approved, a survey sorted out, and I was due to get the keys in a few weeks when the solicitor for the person buying my flat got in touch to say there was a problem.

‘Basically, I live in number 8 and thought I had bought number 8. But Land Registry documents show that I actually own Number 9. The man who thought he’d bought Number 7 actually owns my flat.’

Three years on and he’s still trying to get the mix up sorted out. The Land Registry have said they need every owner’s approval to fix the problem, thereby allowing Chris to sell up. But, some of the flats, including no. 9, are rented out and their owners haven’t responded to letters about the issue.

Chris Meyer with his partner Kelly Simpson and their dog Daisy (Picture: Caters)

Burnetts, the Carlisle law firm that originally dealt with the purchase of his flat, told Chris it was his responsibility to check the relevant document.

And they are trying to resolve the problem.

Nick Gutteridge, a managing partner at Burnetts, told the News & Star: ‘We are very clear that responsibility for checking the title report was with Mr Meyer.

‘Although this is not a situation of our making, we have gone above and beyond in helping Mr Meyer to rectify the issue, including liaising with other property owners and their lenders.

‘Given the many hours which have been spent, at no charge, in trying to assist him, it is disappointing that Mr Meyer has chosen to raise a grievance via the newspaper.

‘We have previously encouraged Mr Meyer to seek independent legal advice and do so again. In the meantime, we are willing to continue to help, if he wants us to do so.’

Metro.co.uk contacted Burnetts for comment. They told us: ‘We have nothing to add to our comment in the News & Star from which you will note that Burnetts is very clear that responsibility for checking the title report was with Mr Meyer.’